The invention relates to a battery-powered apparatus for the consumer-product market having a drive motor, a battery, detecting means for detecting the discharge condition of the battery, and signaling means.
Such an apparatus is known from European patent 0605438. Said document describes a battery-powered electric shaver which is configured in such a manner that after a predetermined discharge condition of the battery is reached a battery capacity indicator device is set to zero and the speed of rotation of the drive motor is reduced to zero continuously or in steps. The controlled reduction of the speed of rotation of the motor prevents the battery from being discharged too far and also prevents the shaver from getting stuck in the beard during a shaving session.
A drawback of the known apparatus is that the motor speed is reduced comparatively rapidly to warn the user that the battery is empty. This means that, as a rule, a shaving session which is already in progress cannot be finished, even in the case that the battery in fact contains enough charge to finish the shaving session.
Obviously, it is inconvenient for a user if a shaving session, once it has begun, cannot be completed. Since the user has not been given an indication that the shaver will be turned off as a result of the diminished charge of the battery, the user will be taken aback by the involuntary termination of the shaving session or, if the user has already experienced this before, he will tend to recharge the battery sooner than actually necessary. This may result in damage to the battery.
Consequently, there is a need for an improved method, which is experienced as reliable by the user, for the controlled turn-off of a battery-powered apparatus after a predetermined charge condition of the battery has been reached.
In order to achieve this, in accordance with the invention, a battery-powered apparatus of the type defined in the opening paragraph is characterized by discharge means which, when a predetermined first discharge condition of the battery is reached, are activated by the detection means to discharge the battery in a controlled manner until a predetermined second discharge condition of the battery is reached.